Samsun Yurt Savunma (SYS Group) has announced its goal to increase its export value per kilogram to 250 dollars through high-technology production and strategic investments. Already exporting to more than 80 countries, SYS Group aims to raise the added value in the defense and aerospace industries, surpassing the sector average.
Target: 250 Dollars per Kilogram in Exports
SYS Group General Manager Cahit Utku Aral, in a statement evaluating the company’s export achievements and 2026 targets, recalled that the average export value per kilogram of the Turkish defense industry was around 67 dollars in 2024. Aral emphasized that SYS Group has increased this figure to 125 dollars, and that the main goal in the coming years is to raise this value to the 250-dollar range.
Aral stated that the foundation for achieving this target lies in moving toward the upper segment in light-weapon production and the strategic investments made in medium-caliber weapon systems.
Transition to High Value-Added Products Through Strategic Investments
Aral noted that they have been operating in the defense industry since 1998 and said that they began their journey with pistol production. He stated that in 2012, they decided to shift to higher value-added products by entering the sports shooting field, elevating their products to the A-segment in market positioning, and becoming one of the first manufacturers to combine a pistol and a reflex sight (optic).
Aral explained that due to intense competition in light weapons, they adopted the strategy of investing in the medium-caliber field, where costs are lower: “Due to the bans in place at the time, we initially became representatives of foreign manufacturers and gained the infrastructure needed to integrate their products into land, sea, and air platforms. This provided us with a critical capability for future weapon production.”
A Global Manufacturer in Medium-Caliber Weapons
Aral stated that with the lifting of bans on long-barreled weapon production in 2017, they began development processes for the 12.7mm heavy machine gun and completed this process in December 2022. At around the same time, the company’s medium-caliber business partner, the British AEI Systems, was incorporated into SYS Group, adding 20mm, 25mm, and 30mm weapons to their product portfolio.
Aral noted that UNIROBOTICS, an Istanbul-based company within SYS Group, develops remote-controlled weapon stations (RCWS) for these weapons, elevating the Group to an important position. Thanks to this integration, he stated that the added value of the company’s export portfolio will exceed 250 dollars.
“Today, SYS Group is one of only three companies in the world capable of producing the 30x113mm weapon, and one of only two companies that produce an RCWS for this weapon within its own structure,” Aral said. He added that the system operates with artificial-intelligence-based software on offshore patrol vessels, manned and unmanned land and sea platforms, and rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft.
SYS Group General Manager Aral stated that, as required of a technology company, they will continue investing going forward and will continue to increase the added value of their products.
SOURCE: C4Defence / SYS Group
